Qualifying could also face a last minute tweak to ensure drivers cannot sit out the top 10 shoot-out for strategy reasons as they did last year.

Team bosses and the rule-makers, the FIA, are to hold urgent talks a fortnight today at the next pre-season test in Bahrain.

Concerns have been expressed that with such radical changes coming in more drivers than ever could be tempted to sit out Q3 to preserve tyres, engines and machinery as well as for more, well-established, strategic reasons.

So a number of ideas are set to be discussed on February 21, including the provision of an extra set of tyres or lengthening the final, 10-minute, session.

Some believe a return to the free-for-all hour long sessions of the past is the answer because the current three-part formula has added nothing to the Saturday spectacle.

In fact, many would argue, it has proved a 60-minute turn off and one of the worst facets of the 2013 regulations.

Fans get to see plenty of action but many are not entertained because most of it is meaningless until the final 10 minutes.

But bosses face a difficult juggling act because they do not want to increase the mileage done by complex cars and thousands of parts, which already face demanding longevity tests.

Teams have increasingly expressed fears fans are being turned off by the Saturday spectacle and that, in turn, is not only hitting television audiences, which are already down, but the gate receipts of hard-pressed circuits.

If something can be agreed the teams will have to act fast to get the new proposals in front of the sport’s ultimate power, the World Council, for approval ahead of the opening race in Melbourne on March 16.